Is honey without pollen really honey?

Sunday

A spoonful of honey might make the medicine go down more easily, but the sweet substance produced by bees seems to constantly be the center of controversy.

Now honey is the subject of 14 lawsuits brought on behalf of consumers in Florida and California.

At the heart of the lawsuits is the question: Is honey still honey if it contains no pollen?

Four of the lawsuits were filed in Florida state and federal courts in April against Publix Super Markets, Target Corp., Walgreen Corp. and Aldi, and the number has grown. They allege the retailers are violating Florida’s honey standard of identity because all traces of pollen have been removed from honey products during an ultra-filtering process, thus the products are falsely labeled.

The lawsuits name the stores’ house brands.

What difference does pollen, which bees collect with nectar, make?

Pollen matters for two reasons, said Jason Kellogg, a Miami attorney who filed the lawsuits with Andrew Meyer, a Tampa attorney.

First, many people believe pollen provides health benefits, and it’s rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Secondly, the only way to trace where the honey is from geographically or whether it is really from orange blossom or clover nectar, or whatever the label says, is to test the pollen.

"We allege that by removing pollen from the honey without labeling the product ‘filtered’ or ‘pollenless,’ the retailers are violating the Florida honey regulation and misleading consumers," Kellogg said.

"Consumers deserve some assurances that the type and source of their honey can be verified," Kellogg said. "Honey without pollen just isn’t honey."

Beekeepers who want to make sure pollen stays in the honey simply strain it to filter out such larger impurities as bee legs, said Gary Ranker, a Palmetto beekeeper who is president of the Florida State Beekeepers Association. Some people have found that consuming local honey every day can help build an immunity to pollens that trigger allergies.

But most honey sold in retail stores is ultra-filtered because that gives it a longer shelf life and keeps it from crystallizing. Honey never goes bad, Ranker said, and if it crystallizes, just gently warm it, then it liquefies again.

The lawsuits have put the effort to create a national honey standard on hold, Ranker said.

Three years ago Florida became the first state to institute a honey regulation that prohibits additives, chemicals or adulterants in honey produced, processed or sold in the state.

The rule was an effort to stop the flow of "laundered honey" from China and other countries that was watered down with high-fructose corn syrup, sugar and water or contaminated with insecticides or antibiotics.

Its goal was to protect consumers and Florida’s beekeeping industry, which ranks fifth in the nation in honey production, from adulterated honey.

Honey containing anything other than the "natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar from honey bees" will be considered adulterated and mislabeled, the rule states.

Charles Bronson, who was the state’s agriculture commissioner at the time said, "In the future when you’re paying for honey in this state, pure honey is what you will get."

Since the rule was enacted, the state hasn’t had a lot of money or staff to check on honey, especially when there have been more serious life-threatening issues such as outbreaks of salmonella in produce.

Once the rule became law, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Food Safety collected 58 honey samples from retail stores, said Daniel Hixson, an analyst in the division. Two were deemed adulterated with other sweeteners and one was deemed misbranded. It was labeled as Tupelo honey but did not meet the standard of identity.

The state has not stopped the sale of any products under the rule. Enforcement is complaint-based. The division received relatively few honey complaints, Hixson said.

Even people in the beekeeping business who worked to craft the rule didn’t see this twist over pollen coming.

Nancy Gentry, a beekeeper who owns Cross Creek Honey Co. in Interlachen in Northeast Florida, was instrumental in getting the Florida honey rule enacted and has worked to pass similar rules in other states.

"We never thought the way the honey standard would be enforced is through the pollen clause," Gentry said.

Gentry envisions honey being labeled as filtered, or non-filtered, containing pollen or not. But she said major honey packers want to continue to ultra-filter honey like they always have.

Until then if you want to purchase honey that is strained but not filtered Gentry suggests buying a locally produced product.

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